The Second Sunday of Easter Absolution
Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In today’s Gospel, the risen Lord Jesus says to His disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you with hold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Dear Christian friends, It does not matter whether you are the pastor of this congregation or one of its members: today is a very good day for each and every one of us to realize again—and to thank God—for the miraculous gift He gives to us in this place each and every Sunday. We receive here a pure gift that many Christians across the face of the earth simply do not get the chance to receive. Week in and week out we receive here the ABSOLUTION, that is, the forgiveness of our sins for the sake of Jesus’ Christ’s bloody death and victorious resurrection. Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! Why do it say that many Christians on earth do not get to hear and receive this precious and holy gift? Because of the great tragedy of the visible church on earth! • Approximately one billion (according to the Vatican) of our fellow Christians live in a church body where the forgiveness of sins is NOT preached as the exclusive and free gift of Christ Jesus alone. These Christians hear on a weekly and daily basis that Christ has done His part for them, but now they must make their own contribution in order to secure the full forgiveness and grace of God. • Millions of other fellow Christians live in church bodies that refuse to proclaim the absolution—the forgiveness of sins—authoritatively in their worship service. These Christians choke on the question, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). In so choking, they refuse the God-given authority of the pastoral office and its divinely commanded Words. The very last thing these Christians want to hear from their pastor is the sentence Jesus decreed in today’s Gospel, “I forgive you your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” • The tragedy does not end there! Rivers of people—all calling themselves Christian—have abandoned and ignored the Scriptures of God. The Ten Commandments no longer matter, human sexuality no longer matters, sin no longer matters and therefore forgiveness no longer matters. Why proclaim the forgiveness of sins where there is no sin? For such Christians, the story of creation is exactly that—a quaint story. The death of Christ upon the cross is nothing more than an example, as far as they are concerned, and they consider the resurrection to be a figure of speech. Of such Christians our Lord Jesus declared, “Whitewashed tombs filled with the bones of the dead” (Matthew 23:27). All considered, the forgiveness of sins preached in Jesus’ name is a rare and blessed gift upon the face of this earth. You and I, dear saints, have many reasons to rejoice! • First, we should rejoice and praise God that the residue of sin has remained among us. Pray thanks the Lord your God at you are a poor, miserable sinner! “It is not the healthy who need the doctor,” says the Lord, “but the sick” (Mark 2:17). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Let us therefore make bold confession of our sins and proclaim to the world who we are, apart from Christ; that apart from Christ Jesus our Lord we are sick, sinful, enslaved, impoverished, emaciated, and stone cold dead. • We are now in the season of Easter. Now is the time for us to rejoice that Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! Jesus wants you to know in today’s Gospel that His resurrection is all about the forgiveness of your sins: On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them his hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Standing before them in the power of His resurrection, our Lord Jesus has done two things for His dear disciples. First, He forgave them all of their sins by proclaiming to them—not once, but twice—“Peace be with you.” Then the risen Christ put these men to work for us and for all Christians everywhere; “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” With these Words, Jesus wants you to know that the forgiveness of your sins is the first and best fruit of His resurrection from the dead. With these Words, Jesus wants you to know that His resurrection means nothing if it does not mean the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus wants you to know that where His forgiveness is, there also is the power of His resurrection, for you and for all who believe. Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! • If all this were not reason enough for us to rejoice and be glad, we should also thank the Lord our God for His mind-blowing miracle that the preaching of forgiveness has somehow remained and endured here in our midst. This has not been our doing! The preaching of forgiveness has not remained here because of our strength or effort. The preaching of forgiveness in Jesus’ name has remained here solely because the Lord our God has seen fit for it to remain here by the power of His Word and Spirit. How many of our fellow Christians would love to hear, once a month or once a year, the blessed proclamation we receive here on a weekly basis! Without conditions, without reservations, without caveat, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. How many of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ carry about a load of guilt and regret that they can never feel fully certain that they have escaped? Brothers and sisters, the word ALL means ALL: I forgive you ALL your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. How many saints of God must spend their lives wondering whether they have done enough; wondering whether they have met the mark or fully purchased their ticket; wondering whether they shall indeed qualify for the joys of eternal life? In today’s Gospel, Jesus insists that salvation is not something you do; forgiveness is not something you earn; resurrection is not something you accomplish. Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! In that resurrection, you are free. I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Who knows? Perhaps you will cross paths a fellow Christian sometime this week who would benefit from hearing the same news. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
